Graphic Designer Cover Letter Example

A graphic designer cover letter has to do two things in a few hundred words: get the portfolio opened, and prove that the work in it did something for a business. Creative directors and marketing managers read dozens of these for every opening, and the ones they keep name the role, name two or three pieces of work with their results, and say why this studio or this brand rather than any other.

The sample below goes with the graphic designer resume example: Lucas Brannigan, a brand and packaging designer at a small studio in Pittsburgh, applying for a senior designer role at a consumer-goods brand's in-house team. It opens with the role and the one project that fits it, uses the middle paragraphs for the rebrand and the packaging line with numbers the resume already states, and closes with the portfolio link and the ask.

Write a new letter for every application. Swap the project you lead with, swap the reason you want this employer, and keep the structure. If the posting asks for a portfolio instead of a letter, send both: the letter is where you explain what the portfolio cannot.

Updated . The person, the employer and the recipient in this sample letter are fictional. It goes with the graphic designer resume example for the same person.

Graphic Designer sample cover letter

About 280 words, one page in the style of the Contemporary template.

Lucas Brannigan

Graphic Designer, Brand and Packaging

Pittsburgh, PAlucas.brannigan@example.com(412) 555-0109

Mr. Daniel ReyesCreative DirectorThree Rivers Provisions Co.Pittsburgh, PA

Dear Mr. Reyes,

I'd like to be considered for the Senior Graphic Designer role on your brand team. For the last four years I've designed packaging and brand systems for food and beverage clients at a small Pittsburgh studio, and the project I'm proudest of is the one your posting describes: a snack packaging line that had to work on a crowded grocery shelf and in a social feed at the same time.

At Fieldstone Creative Studio I lead brand and packaging work for about fifteen active clients. For a regional grocer I designed the identity and rolled it out across 40 stores, from signage and bags to the weekly circular, and built the guidelines the grocer's own team still works from. For a snack brand I designed a packaging line of six SKUs; in its first year the product's shelf sales rose by about a fifth, and the client has since added four more flavors in the same system. I hand print-ready files to vendors without surprises, because I've spent enough time on press checks to know what breaks.

Your team's recent work on the pantry range is the reason I'm applying here and not somewhere else. The way the labels carry one system across jars, pouches and cartons is the kind of problem I like, and I would bring a working knowledge of dielines, substrates and the Adobe suite and Figma, plus the habit of presenting options to a client and taking the feedback without flinching.

My portfolio is at the link on my resume, with the grocer rebrand and the snack line first. I'd welcome the chance to walk you through either one in person. Thank you for your time.

Best regards,

Lucas Brannigan

Start yours from this letter

Opens this letter in the editor, in one of the templates below. Swap in your details and the employer's, then fit it to each vacancy in about two minutes.

Use this letter

How this graphic designer cover letter is built

  1. The first paragraph names the role and one project that matches the posting

    A creative director skims the opening to decide whether to open the portfolio. Naming the role, the specialty and the one project that fits the posting's own words does that in three sentences. Nothing about passion, nothing about being excited to apply.

  2. The middle paragraph gives two pieces of work with what they did for the business

    The rebrand and the packaging line are the two strongest entries on the graphic designer resume, and the letter borrows their numbers: 40 stores, six SKUs, sales up by about a fifth, four more flavors. A hiring manager can check each one in the portfolio and the resume. The last sentence, about press checks, answers the question every in-house team has about studio designers.

  3. The third paragraph says why this employer, with a specific piece of their work

    "Your recent work on the pantry range" proves the designer looked at what the team makes. The sentence about systems across jars, pouches and cartons shows the applicant understands the job, and the tools and the feedback habit answer two lines of the posting without listing them.

  4. The closing points at the portfolio and asks for the conversation

    Say where the portfolio is and which pieces to open first, offer to present the work, and thank the reader once. A designer who tells the reader what to look at first is already directing attention, which is the job.

Templates for the graphic designer cover letter

All cover letter templates

Each one matches a resume template of the same name, so the letter and the resume go out in one look.

Mistakes that cost graphic designer interviews

  1. Describing the portfolio instead of linking to it

    Three paragraphs about your aesthetic are three paragraphs the reader would rather spend looking at the work. Link the portfolio, name the two pieces to open first, and use the letter for what the work cannot show: the brief, the result and your part in it.

  2. Listing tools as the main evidence

    Every applicant knows Illustrator, InDesign and Figma. A tool list in the first paragraph tells the reader you have nothing else to lead with. Put the tools in one clause late in the letter and lead with projects and results.

  3. Designing the letter

    A letter set in three typefaces with a colored sidebar competes with the portfolio and often breaks in applicant tracking systems. Use a clean single-column layout, one typeface, and let the work carry the visual argument. The Contemporary template is as far as a letter should go.

  4. Writing the same letter for a studio and an in-house team

    A studio wants range and speed across clients; an in-house team wants depth in one brand and comfort with guidelines. The sample above leads with range but closes on systems and feedback, because the role is in-house. Decide which the reader is and shift the emphasis.

  5. Claiming results you cannot stand behind

    "Increased engagement" with no number and no source invites the question you cannot answer. Use the result the client gave you, say "about" when it is approximate, and leave it out when there is none. One checkable number beats three vague ones.

Questions about the graphic designer cover letter

How long should a graphic designer cover letter be?

Three or four short paragraphs, under 350 words. The sample above is about 330. The portfolio does the heavy lifting; the letter's job is to get it opened and to explain two pieces of work in business terms.

Should a graphic designer cover letter be designed?

Lightly, if at all. Match the typeface and spacing of your resume so the two read as one set, keep a single column, and send a PDF. Save the creative decisions for the portfolio, which is where the reader expects them.

What if the posting only asks for a portfolio link?

Send the portfolio link in the application field and attach the letter anyway, or paste the first two paragraphs into the message box. A creative director who gets forty links and three letters reads the letters.

How do I write a cover letter with no agency or studio experience?

Lead with the strongest project you have, whether it was for a class, a nonprofit or a friend's business, and treat it like client work: the brief, what you made, what happened. Say that you are early in your career and what you want to learn here. Employers hiring junior designers are reading for taste and follow-through, not for a client list.

Should I mention freelance work?

Yes, as work. A freelance packaging job with a real result belongs in the middle paragraph alongside studio projects. Name the client type rather than the client if you signed a non-disclosure agreement.

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